Sheet-carrying machine.



J. G. HARDIE.

SHEET CARRYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-12.1915.

Patented Ma'y14,1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I. G. HARDE.

SHEET CARRYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-12,1915.

Patented May 14, 1918.

3 SHEEIS-SHEET 2.

a ar I INVENTOR.

.l. G. HARDIE.

SHEET CARRYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 12. 1915.

Patented MayM, 1918.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

Q mm a JAMES G. HARDIE, or CANTON, NEW YORK.

SHEET-CARRYING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1a, 1918.

Application filed November 12, 1915. Serial No. 61,001.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that 1, JAMES G. HjAR'D'IE, a citizenof the United States of America, and a resident of Canton, county of St. Lawrence, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Carrying Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in a sheetcarrying device for print ing presses and the like, where a bank of sheets is fed singly to acylinder press or other sheet-handling mechanism.

The object of this invention is to provide means to move a bank of stock foriiard intermittently as the single sheets are fed off, without stopping the press. p

The following are the new features in this invention; v

(a) a main teed-table having belts passed around it whichca rry the stock forward.

(6) a sub-table mounted on a plane above the main feedtable and ac'lapted to be manually tilted forward.

(0), a frame slidably mounted inthe subtable, adapted to be moved to and fro in the sub-table.

(d), a power-rotated train of gears, adapted to intermittently rotate the belts upon the main feed-table.

(e), a tail-board on the rear of the table on which to slide the stock.

a flexible cover to protect the stock from the moisture in the atmosphere.

(g), a side-guide on a plane above the belts on the table.

(72-), a shoe mounted upon the side-guide having a horizontal foot. y

a filler between the feed-table and the belts. v v

The accompanying illustrations show the invention mounted upon a printingpress, although it may be used in connection with other kinds of machines to which sheets are singly fed. I

Similar numbers refer to similar parts, throughout the drawings.

Referring to the various figures-in detail, they are as follows: k I

Figure l is a side elevation showing a printing press in outline, with a teed-table mounted upon it. Near each end of the feed-table are jou'rnalled shafts, carrying pulleys withbjelts passing around the table upon said pulleys, A gear-case is mounted upon the teedtable with a train of gears journaled in it and in engageiiieiit witlia gear upon the shaft journaled the front end of the feed-table. An electric nidtoris mounted upon the feedftable and in belted engagement with said train o t gears. also a snap-switch to start and stop said motor. Mounted upon the feed-table and piyotally attachedtoit is a sub-feed-table with a slidably mounted seine located in it. I

Fig. Qis a side elevation of the gear-case with a train of gears journaled in t. y Fig. 3 is a plan View showing the front end of the main feed-table, the gear-case and motor mounted upon it, the subtable' above the main table, and the sliding frame mounted in the sub-table a tail -lo"'oa'1 f d rigid upon the rear end oftlie subtable portions of the cover rolled on ashaft, a side-guide upon the tail-board, and a detachable shoe upon the side-guide. I 1 I 1 Fig. is a side elevation of the outline of a printing press showing the main feed table in a no'difiedt'orm without thes b}, table mounted upon it. In the modified form it consists of the table hinged midway of its ends with the extended end supported by a brace between it and the. press. The gear-case, train of gears and the motor mounted the same as in Fig. 1 also the tailboard and the flexible cover are the same as in Fig. 1. r v Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectiona'l view of themain feed-table sho 'ving the belt above and below it with a supporting piece between the table andthe upper strand of the belt, also a journal bracket slidably attached to the table with an adjusting screw to take up the belt. The tail-board is mounted upon the rear end of the table andslidably attached to it is a side-guide with a forwardly extended end on a .plane abgwe the belt. and loosely mol'inted upon the side guide is, a shoe extending forward beyond the guide. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional, View at 5 showing an end View of the feedtable. the belts above and below it, the tailboard mounted above the feed-table, and the side-guide mounted upon the tail-board with the shoe loosely hung upon the sideguide.

Description of parts in detail. Fig. 1,1 is the main feed-table u eterward end of which is rigidly attached to the press-frame and the rear end is supported by the brace 36 which is attached to the press-frame and the feed-table. :2- is the electric motor mounted upon the feed table, 3 is a belt between the motor and the pulley a upon the shaft 5 which carries the pinion 6, the pinion 6 engages the gear 7 which is the first gear of a train of gears journaled in the gear-case 25 which is mount ed upon the feed-table, 8 is a gear engaging the last gear of the train and it is rigid upon the shaft 9 which is ournaled in bear ings located near the front end of the feedtable, 10 is a pulley upon the shaft 9, it) is a shaft journaled in bearings near the rear end of the feed-table, and rigid upon which is the pulley l2, 13 is a belt passing around the feedtable and upon the pulleys l0 and 12, 14: is a bracket rigid upon the feed-table, 15 is a sub-table pivotally attached in the bracket 14:, 16 is a frame slidably mounted in the sub-table l5, 17 is a handle by which the sub-table ma y be tilted, 18 is a suitable link between the sub-table and the main table to limit its movement when returned to its normal position, 19 is a counter-weight attached to the rear end of the sub-table, 20 shows the sub-table in a tilted position. 21 is a bracket rigid on the sub-table in which journaled the shaft 22, and to this shaft is attached one end of a flexible cover 28, 2i is a snap-switch con nected with an electric motor through the wires 25, 33 is a tail-board rigidly attached to the rear of the sub-table.

Fig. 8, 26 is a crank upon the shaft 22, 37 is a side-guide slidably mounted upon the tail-board 33, 38 is a shoe loosely mounted upon the side-guide 37, 39 is a stop-pin in the side-guide 37 and contacts the shoe 38.

Fig. l, 27 is a hinge in the main feedtable 1, 28 is a shaft in the hinge 27.

Fig. 29 is a bracket slidably attached to the main feed-table 1, in which is journaled the shaft 11, 30 is an adjusting screw contacting the bracket 29 and is threaded in the bracket 31 which is rigidly attached to the feed-table, 3% is a filler rigid upon the feed-table and beneath the belts 13, 33 is an end view of the tail-board, a side view of the sideguide, 38 the shoe upon the side-guide and 39 is a stop in the side-guide contacting the shoe.

Fig. 6, is a cross section of the feed-table at in Fig. 5 showing an eno. Yiew of the side-guide and the shoe upon it having a horizontal foot upon it.

General form of construction.

In Fig, l is shown the general construction of my invention mounted upon a printing press such as would be used in cases where there is a limited space at rear of the press and such as require that the construction of the device be contracted not to exceed the room between the rear of the press and the nearest obstruction. For this reason I show the main feed-table extending but a short distance beyond the pressframe, and a sub-table mounted upon the main feed-table, and in this sub-table is a frame adapted to be slid backward to the rear end of the sub-table. By this construction a load of stock can be piled upon the sub-table while another pile of stock can be fed from the main table, and when the pile is fed off the main table the sub-table can be manually tilted forward, and by gravity the pile on the sub-table will slide down to the main table, and the belts on the main table being at the same instant rotated forwardly by the motor and train of gears the pile on the sub-table is carried forward until the rear end of the pile reaches the main feed-table. Then the frame in the subtable will be manually slid back so that the frame will be out from below the stack of paper when the sub-table may be returned to its normal position.

@n this sub-table is a tail-board 33, which is helpful when loading the stock onto the sub'table, as the roll of stock when carried up can be laid on this tail-board and slid across the sub-table, otherwise the stock would catch in the openings of the sub-table.

Above and back of the tail-board is a cover rolled up and after the stock has been spread out on the subtable there is a large surface exposed to the atmosphere which tends to shrink the stock, and to protect the stock from the moisture in the atmosphere this cover is drawn over the stock.

On the main feed-table is mounted an electric motor and a train of gears in operative engagement with the shaft that carries the belt supporting the stock. A snapswitch is conveniently located near the operator so that at intervals he can move the stock forward by pressing the switch, by foot, which starts the motor.

In Fig. at is shown a modified form of the invention which is desirable when there ample room at rear of press, as in this form the sub-table is dispensed with, and the main feed-table is made longer, however the general idea is the same as there is a series of belts passing around the table and rotated by the motor and train of gears the same as shown in Fig. 1.

In this form, the main table might be hinged midway between the ends so that in high presses the rear end may be lowered and in low presses it may be raised so as to admit passage below it. In this form the tail-board and the cover would be used the same as in the other form.

A side-guide is essential in either form against which stock is placed when loading. in order to get it in line, but some sizes of stock require that this side-guide be located above one of the belt-s in which case the lOO guide must be built on a plane above the belts but close to them, also the stock may be of such a size that the edge of the stock will just contact the edge of the belt which has a tendency to draw the pile out of true, therefore to meet such a contingency a shoe with a horizontal foot is loosely attached to the side-guide to hold up the end of the stock so that it will not contact the belt. Then, too, it is desirable to hold the stock up off the feed-table so that as the stock is carried forward it will not get marred by friction on the table, therefore to obviate this condition a filler is placed upon the feed-table beneath the belts tocarry the belts off the table.

1h owner of operation.

The stock is brought to the carrier in :1 rolled form so as to be easily handled, and is placed upon the tail-board 33, so that the roll of stock may be slid across the sub-table 15 without its catching in the openings of the sub-table. The stock is then unrolled and in a shingled manner with the top sheet toward the front end of the table. The stock is loaded on until the front end of the stock reaches the end of the frame 16. The cover 23 is then drawn out over the stock to protect it from the moisture in the atmosphere. The sub-table 15 is then tilted forward by the handle 17 and takes the position as shown in 20, which allows the stock, by gravity, to slide off the sub-table to the main feed-table. Openings are made in the main table to ad- I mit the frame 16 to pass below the main table depositing the stock upon the belts l3.

The snap-switch is then operated which. starts the motor and through the train of gears the belts upon the maintable are rotated forward carrying the bank of stock upon them until the rear end of the bank of stock has reached the main feed-table at which time the motor is stopped. The frame 16 is then manually slid backward until its end is out from below the bank of stock and then the counterweight 19 returns the subtable to its normal position and the frame 16 is again slid forward.

As the operator feeds off the sheets singly the bank is moved forward keeping the front edge of the stock at the most convenient point for feeding, and this is done by the operator pressing the snap switch 24.

Where the modified form shown in Fig. 4 is used the stock is laid in two piles upon the extended main feed-table and while the first pile is being fed the second pile is being placed.

In either form the side-guide is used so as to aid the operator in placing the bank of stock in a correct position sidewise laying the further edge upon a horizontal foot of the shoe.

Having described my invention what I claim is 1. In a sheet-carrying device the combination of a main feed-table, a power-rotated shaft journaled in said table, pulleys rigid upon said shaft, pulleys at the rear of the table, belts passing around said table and said pulleys, a sub-table pivotally mounted above said main feed-table adapted to be tilted forward to deposit upon the feeding tapes the front end of the sheets.

2. In a sheet-carrying device the combination of a main feed-table a power-rotated shaft journaled in said table, pulleys rigid upon said shaft, pulleys at the rear of the table, belts passing around said table upon said pulleys, a shoe located between the upper and the lower flights of the belts with the upper surface of the shoe located in a plane above the plane of the upper surface of the table.

3. In a sheet-carrying device the combination of a main feed-table, a power-rotated shaft journaled in said table, pulleys rigid upon said shaft, pulleys at the rear of the table, belts passing around said table upon said pulleys, a member adapted to hold a supply of sheets, mounted with its upper surface above the upper surface of said belts and adapted to swing about a pivot to deposit the front ends of the sheets upon the belts. I

JAMES e. HARDIE.

Witnesses:

SIDNEY R. BELL, BJORNULL JoHNsEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents, Washington, I). C. 

